Civil servants’ pay indaba on today

The cash-strapped Zanu PF government meets the Apex Council today to update the civil servants’ representative body on their July pay dates.

This comes as Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Prisca Mupfumira yesterday dismissed purported civil servants’ pay dates circulating on social media, as the work of detractors seeking to destabilise the country.

“There will be a meeting tomorrow where on our part, we will engage the Apex Council team leader Mrs Cecilia Alexander to update them on the situation in the spirit of dialogue,” she said.

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“Treasury is making frantic efforts with a view to improving on what happened with last month’s salaries. As the parent ministry, we are always in touch with the civil servants’ unions and Treasury.

“We are in the final stages and dates will be availed to the workers first before they go public, but indications are that there is great improvement. This month, it will definitely be better than last time.”

Minister Mupfumira said bonus payments caused the deferment of civil servants’ salary dates. “We are improving because the dates were pushed further because of bonus payments, which most companies failed to pay last year,” she said.

Because the President (Mugabe) appreciates the work being done by the dedicated civil servants, he saw it fit to award them the bonuses. We will come back to our traditional dates and everything will be back to normal soon. Cash flow challenges is the problem, but Government is doing all it can to keep the workforce motivated.

“There are also some mischievous people who are circulating fake dates on the social media and we urge our workers to ignore those and not to be deterred. Their efforts will as usual come to naught. We always respect and thank the civil servants for the dedication to duty. This month it will definitely be better than last time,” said Minister Mupfumira.

Zimbabwe failed to pay the army on time for the second straight month, military sources said on Friday, underscoring the precarious financial position of President Robert Mugabe’s government as it faces rare popular protests.

The military is paid on the 14th of the month but soldiers and air force officers said they were still to receive their pay and had not told when they would get it.

The delays could fuel political tensions in the southern African nation, which has been hit by drought, a drop in mineral prices and chronic cash shortages – all factors behind this month’s protests against 92-year-old Mugabe.

“The mood is sour among the rank and file. Life is tough and we are not being told by our superiors whether we will be paid this month or not,” one private told Reuters. One colonel said: “We have not been informed of new pay dates by the ministry of finance